The Downward Motion of Jesus' Sweat and the Authenticity of Luke 22:43-44

Abstract

Recurring debate over the authenticity of Luke 22:43-44 has subjected the verses to intense scrutiny. In addition to the unique vocabulary and Jesus' ἀγωνία, the blood and sweat metaphor/imagery is a usual locus of investigation. Missing from these studies on the blood and sweat, however, has been any interrogation of καταβαίνοντες, the one term describing the sweat's secretion and motion. Almost unanimously, translators and commentators have rendered the participle as "falling" even though this is inconsistent with Luke's own use of καταβαίνειν. I argue that the notion of sweat falling is incongruous across time and genre with Greek modes of discussing the emission and movement of sweat and similar bodily fluids. Instead of Jesus' sweat "falling," I argue that "coursing down" or "streaming down" best captures the idiom. Along with gaining translational accuracy and coherence with Lucan usage, I suggest that this description of Jesus' sweat accords with his bodily comportment (kneeling) in 22:41, a modest but previously unnoticed piece of internal evidence that may point toward the verses' authenticity.